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<title>It Was Not Your Fault, but Mine by Shiieldmaiden</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26161165">It Was Not Your Fault, but Mine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiieldmaiden/pseuds/Shiieldmaiden'>Shiieldmaiden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Gen, c2e107 spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:15:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>393</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26161165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiieldmaiden/pseuds/Shiieldmaiden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Keyleth doesn’t expect it when the tree opens behind her. Why should she?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keyleth &amp; Vilya | Viridian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>160</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It Was Not Your Fault, but Mine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keyleth doesn’t expect it when the tree opens behind her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Why should she? She’s not expecting anyone, and times have been peaceful for so long. Though, that doesn’t stop her from lifting her hands defensively - not even a lifetime of peace could undo years of practiced instinct. She should know. She’s running through the spells she’d prepared for the day, green light beginning to gather between her palms, when the figure stepping through lifts their head. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>And all thought of defensive magic leaves her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Keyleth knows that face. She <em> knows </em> that face. She’s frozen on the spot, taking it all in, until the woman takes another step towards her and she finally unfreezes with a gasp, clutching at her chest. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It can’t be. But that’s her <em> face</em>, that’s the nose Keyleth saw every morning when she looked in the mirror, the eyes she remembered from when she was just a little girl, and- </p>
<p> </p>
<p>All they’d found in Vesrah was her leg. This woman had a leg of twisting, shifting vines, and <em> all they’d found in Vesrah was her leg</em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her voice gets caught in her throat a few times before she finally manages to get out a single word. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mom?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The woman before her smiles, and Keyleth can just barely see tears beginning to well up in her eyes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Keyleth</em>,” she says, and <em> that’s her voice, </em> and that’s all it takes for the younger woman to take off running into her mother’s arms. She dimly registers the portal in the tree closing and a small figure watching from the other side, but she doesn’t really care. Vecna himself could be on the other side of that portal and she wouldn’t care because <em>that’s her mom.</em> Keyleth crashes into her mother, flinging her arms around her neck and holding on so tight she briefly worries she might hurt her, but then her mother is hugging her back just as fiercely and those worries fade, leaving Keyleth to bury her face in her mother’s shoulder and just let herself be <em> held by her mom. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Mom</em>,” she says again, voice muffled in the piecemeal leathers and hides the woman is wearing, and she can feel the tears now, flowing free. Keyleth can feel her mantle billowing out and spreading around them as her mother guides them to the ground, never letting go of her daughter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>”<em>Mom.</em>”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s writing one of these but I couldn’t stop myself, yagirl was crying at the end of last night’s episode, I had to put some words to that beautiful moment. </p>
<p>Find me on twitter @shiieldmaiden and Instagram @shiieldmaidencosplay 💙</p></blockquote></div></div>
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